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A team of American scientists created a semi-synthetic organism with an expanded genetic alphabet. Old, natural DNA consists of two distinct base pairs, A-T and G-C. The letters refer to specific sub-units within a pair adenine (A) binds to thymine (T) and cytosine (C) binds to guanine (G) to create the well known double helix.

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After investigating how to regrow bones with silk, biologists found out that zebrafish, a tropical fish native to the Himalayan region but very common in tanks, could be studied for the same purpose. In fact, this aquatic species has the amazing ability to regenerate lost appendages, such as fins.

Researchers at the University of Oregon discovered that this process is applicable to human bones as well.

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Chemistry teacher James Kennedy sat down to show us that if we speak in terms of good and evil, Mother Nature’s products are far sneakier and complex than the lab’s. He virtually listed all the ingredients of non-GM fruits (excluding pesticides, fertilizers, insecticides or other contaminants), to reveal 13 E-numbers “naturally” packed in your morning blueberries, together with flavorings and fresh air.

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Before the 1940s, the most simple, everyday maladies – a bug bite, a broken bone, a sore throat – could result in swift and sudden death, cutting down people even in the prime of their lives. This was the era before antibiotics became a cornerstone of modern medicine. Now, thanks to overprescription of antibiotics, the massive overuse of antibiotics in factory-style farming, and stalled antibiotic research, we’re rapidly returning to the pre-penicillin era. Bacteria have evolved resistance to our best and, right now, our only, weapons.

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A Japanese biologist, Katsuhiko Hayashi, has managed to create both sperm and egg cells from stem cells in mice. Not only that, but Hayashi was even able to produce a viable baby mouse using these same stem cells. His research may have far-reaching consequences for human fertility, one of which would be that two men or two women could make a biological baby together.

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At first glance the picture might look like the delicate gear wheel from an old Swiss watch, but it is actually the first and only mechanical gear ever found in nature. It belongs to a three-millimeter-long hopping insect, known as Issus Coleoptratus. The gears are located at the top of the insects’ hind legs and include 10 to 12 tapered teeth, allowing the insect to jump forward.Read more »

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In the basement recording studio of the journal Nature scientist and broadcaster Adam Rutherford sat down with speculative architect Liam Young to discuss the mythical beasts of synthetic biology. Rutherford recently worked with the BBC on a series called the ‘Gene Code’ which explored the consequences of decoding the human genome. Recognizing the potential externalities of communicating science poorly, Rutherford works at conveying the poorly understood field of synthetic biology to a broader audience.

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The apocalypse is on its way – at least for oranges. Citrus greening, a disease that kills citrus trees and makes their fruit green, shrunken and inedibly bitter, is racing across the globe. The disease, which is transmitted from tree to tree by a tiny insect called a psyllid, was first reported in China in 1943. Since then, it’s spread across the globe, finally making its way to Florida’s famous orange groves in 2005.

There is no known cure. A worldwide search failed to turn up a naturally immune tree. Measures like burning infected trees and dousing the psyllids with insecticide slow but do not stop the disease. With such seemingly bleak odds, does this mean the end of oranges, lemons and grapefruits?

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A gorgeously uncanny school of discus fish cluster in an aquarium, all of them captive breeds. Though there’s nothing unusual about artificially selecting animals for flamboyant or bizarre traits, it’s still compelling to see such a lovely display of manmade biodiversity. Some of these discus strains are the result of “natural” hybridization between fish from different geographic locations, while others are the result of random mutations and intense inbreeding.

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Normally, when we select for characteristics in fruits and vegetables, it’s to bring them closer to some modernist ideal: corn that’s sweeter, lettuce that’s crisper, cucumbers that are perfectly green and straight. However, a new strain of tomato out of the UK may soon topple the spherical red fruit from its iconic position. These purple GM tomatoes owe their unusual hue to a dark purple-blue pigment called anthocynanin. Not only does this antioxidant double the shelf life of tomatoes in the supermarkt, it also extends the lives of mice that are genetically predisposed to cancer. A tomato that cuts down on food waste and the incidence of cancer? Even if pasta and pizza will never look the same, maybe it’s time to pass the purple.

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A team of scientists from the Animal Reproduction Institute of Uruguay have genetically modified nine sheep with a phosphorescent jellyfish protein. This causes the lambs to grow a neon green colour when exposed to ultraviolet light. Besides the lambs’ predisposition to glow green, they are otherwise perfectly healthy and normal.

Genetically modifying the sheep to glow under UV light is an attempt to advance and perfect the technique that will allow scientists to add beneficial new genes to livestock. Once the genes are integrated into an animal’s DNA, it can produce milk with various medical advantages for humans. Perhaps this could lead to the creation of a real-life Korova Milk Bar, the bar from “A Clockwork Orange” that offers drug-laced milk.

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Through cigarette butts and strands of loose hair, we constantly and carelessly discard our genetic material. One New York-based artist, Heather Dewey-Hagborg, used these random traces left behind by unsuspecting strangers to make sculptures of what their owners might look like.

In her Stranger Visions series, Dewey-Hagborg created physical models using DNA facial modeling software and a 3D printer. The masks reflect eye color, geographical roots, sex, and other traits, but not exact facial features because forensic phenotyping can’t yet fill in all the details. Stranger Visions calls attention to the potential for a culture of “genetic surveillance” made possible by inexpensive $1,000 DNA sequencers. “As a society,” says Dewey-Hagborg, ”we need to have a discussion about that.”

Soon, our entire genome may be accessible to strangers within minutes, with fears of cloning or genetic hacking to go along with it. It’s unsettling to think that our DNA, and therefore our identities, are not as precious as we think they are.

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In the movie Fantastic Voyage, a submarine and its crew were shrunk and injected into the body of a sick man in an attempt to save his life. Despite the fictional nature of this story, in the near future miniaturized, organic “computers” may roam our bodies, detecting early-stage diseases and treating them on the spot. There are already 10 times more bacterial cells than human cells in our bodies – so why not add a few more?

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Fat is what makes ice cream taste rich and creamy. It’s called ice cream, after all, not ice skim milk. So how have some manufacturers managed to make reduced fat ice cream that does a decent job of matching the real stuff? The answer, it turns out, is in fish blood.